This invention relates to upright vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to an ergonomically-designed handle for a vacuum cleaner which enables the user to operate the cleaner with a more efficient stroke, which enables the user to vacuum under articles of furniture without undue bending or stooping, and which enables the cleaner to be stored in a relatively small area.
Conventional upright vacuum cleaners generally comprise a wheeled, floor-engaging suction housing which includes a powered brush roll. A handle is pivotally connected to a rear portion of the housing, and the handle extends in a generally rectilinear direction to a hand grip. Upright vacuum cleaners may have a handle which is merely a tube with a hand grip at its end. These cleaners usually have a soft filter bag cover attached at the lower end to the blower outlet of the suction housing and attached at the upper end to an upper portion of the handle. Other handle arrangements may comprise more stylized configurations, such as flat, relatively wide handles which taper toward the hand grip, rather than the conventional tube handle. Other handles include a canister or hard box which forms a chamber for a filter bag. The elongated chamber is pivoted at one end to the suction housing and includes an upper post portion which extends to a hand grip.
During use, the handle portion of the cleaner exhibits an acute angle with respect to the floor. When the acute angle is relatively small, more of the user's energy is directed to moving the cleaning head in the desired direction toward or away from the user. It is also easier to steer the suction housing when this angle is small. Furthermore, it is necessary to lower the handle to a substantially horizontal position when cleaning under low clearance items of furniture. This necessitates stooping or bending to obtain such a handle position. Prior art handle grips have been designed to effectively lower the position of the handle during normal usage, but the degree to which the handle is lowered is minimal. Examples of such handles may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,720,890 and 5,016,315.